BISSET, Walter of Aboyne ^{2 3}

   Other names for Walter were BISET, Walter Lord of Aboyne) ⁴ and DE BYSET, Walter of Aboyne.⁵

   User ID: V416.

  General Notes:

"Of the proprietors of Aboyne prior to 1230 little is known. The lands seem to have been acquired at an early period by the De Bysets, a powerful Scoto-Norman family, who were brought from England by William the Lion, and rose rapidly into royal favour. They are found closely associated with the Scottish kings, and appear constantly at Court, as evidenced by the charters of Alexander II., to which they are witnesses,
They owned the baronies of Lovat, Abertarff, Stratherrick, and Aboyne, besides large estates in the south of Scodand; and, following the example of their English kinsmen, they built chapels, and founded the priory of Beauly. Walter de Byset of Aboyne founded the preceptory of the Knights' Templars at Culter on Dee, and they for centuries possessed the Church of Aboyne. The rapid rise of the Bysets excited the jealousy of the Scottish nobles, and ere long their downfall was brought about under tragic circumstances."

from Records of Aboyne




"The career of the young Earl (Patrick of Galloway) was tragically cut short a few years later, in 1242, after a tournament at Haddington. Some time before this Earl Patrick had, in a tournament on the English border, overthrown Biset (⁵ Name not given, but probably William.) of Upsetlington, a misfortune which apparently rankled in Biset's mind. He found an opportunity of revenge at Haddington, when after the mimic fight of the day, the Earl of Atholl being asleep in his lodging at the west end of the High Street on the south, a party of Biset's faction slew the Earl with two of his companions, and to hide their crime set fire to the house. Suspicion, however, fell strongly upon Walter Biset (whom Bower erroneously calls William), Lord of Aboyne and other lands in the north. He had entertained the King and Queen of Scotland at his Castle of Aboyne, and by her Majesty's testimony established an alibi, but it was declared that if he were not present in person, yet his insignia, his knights, and his armed forces were there with his consent. Biset procured ecclesiastical censure to be pronounced against the murderers, but his motives were suspected, and after a important meeting of clergy at Perth, the nobles joined in a complaint against the crime. Alexander Comyn, afterwards the Earl of Buchan, and John, the Red Comyn, his nephew, in fact, rushed to arms and harried the neighbourhood of the Bisets so ruthlessly that King Alexander intervened. Walter Biset, John Biset, his nephew, and, according to Bower, a William Biset, were tried at Forfar, and again at Edinburgh, and were banished from Scotland, after taking a vow to make pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Walter Biset, however, went to England, where he fomented a contest between the two countries, but peace was made at Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1244."

from Scots Peerage (vol 1)




" In 1242 Walter de Bisset was accused of the murder of Patrick, sixth earl of Athol, at Haddington. That the murder might be concealed, the assassins set fire to the house in which the earl lodged. The murdered earl had been victor in a tournament with Walter Bisset, and it is remarked by Mr. Burton, [Life of Lord Lovat, p. 5,] as probable that he had no farther concern with the murder than his inability to restrain the fiery spirit of his Celtic followers, burning for vengeance. But in this he seems to be mistaken, as the Berwickshire Bissets were not likely to have Celtic followers, nor even those of Moray of that epoch, most of the native inhabitants having, as stated above, been transported to Galloway. The Scottish nobility, headed by Patrick, earl of March, and instigated by David de Hastings, who had married the aunt of Athol, raised their followers, and demanded Bisset's life. Bisset sought and obtained the protection of the king, Alexander the Second, who, however, could not shield him long, so powerful was the combination against him, and he was compelled to leave the kingdom, when his estates were forfeited, and all his family were involved in his ruin. The Bissets fled to Ireland, from whence Bisset himself proceeded to England, and incited Henry the Third to take up arms against the Scottish king, which led to the treaty of Newcastle, 13th August 1244."

from Electric Scotland (The Scottish Nation)




"By the year 1242 they (Bissets of Aboyne) had become a very powerful family in Scotland, and the chieftainship seemed to rest in Walter Bisset, Lord of Aboyne. For some time a feud had existed between him and Patrick Galloway, Earl of Athole, who in the same year was burnt in his lodgings in Haddington. Although Walter Bisset proved that at the time of the fire he was entertaining the Queen, Joanna, at his Castle of Aboyne, where she had honoured him with a visit, and whom he had escorted as far as Forfar on her way south, he did not escape the suspicion of having instigated his followers to set fire to the lodgings of Athole. The end of it was that he was obliged to take refuge in England, where the Queen's brother, Henry III., protected him from his enemies in Scotland.

Although they were declared 'forfeit,' the lands of Aboyne did not pass out of the hands of his family. As we have seen, the charter chest of Aboyne was rifled by Edward I. in 1296, and its contents carried off to England. We can understand why Edward was so anxious to secure these charters. Bisset, in order to be avenged on his Scottish foes, among whom he even included the King, had represented to the English sovereign that the crown of Scotland was a fief of that of England, and that there was evidence of this in the ancient charters. This was just the point that Edward was anxious to establish; and Bisset's own charters were likely to afford the evidence required."

from Electric Scotland (Loch Kinnord) ^{4 5 6 7}

Walter married Ada of Galloway, daughter of Roland or Lachlan Lord of Galloway, Constable of Scotland and Helen DE MOREVILLE, in 1233.^{1 2} (Ada of Galloway was born about 1197.)

  Marriage Notes:

"Ada, married in 1233 to Walter Bisset of Aboyne"

from Scots Peerage (vol 4)



"Ada, wife of Walster Bisset of Aboyne"

from poms website (Roland)



"Walter was married to Ada, sister of Alan of Galloway, in 1233. He was outlawed in 1243 on suspicion of having instructed his nephew, John Bisset, to murder Patrick of Atholl; in 1244 he 'poured seditious venom ceaselessly' into Henry III of England ears, causing the king to march to Newcastle against Alexander II. (Chron. Mel.)"

from poms website (Walter Bisset) ^{1 2 3}